SANTA CRUZ -- Darryl Virostko knows the perfect thrill of air dropping down the face of a 30-foot wave from deep in the bowl at Maverick's. He also knows the feeling of being held down, trapped under the weight of the ocean, a drug called meth, and the expectations of the big wave surfing world.

Over his 20-year professional surf career, the legendary Santa Cruz surfer has chased glory and tamed liquid mountains while doing battle with an under-the-surface monster called "addiction." This year, in conjunction with the Mavericks Invitational Opening Ceremony held Friday, Virostko announced his retirement from professional big wave surfing.

It's been a wild ride.

Virostko's surf career is studded with glory moments. He is a three-time Maverick's contest champion, claiming the title in back to back years in 1999 and 2000 and "Flea-peating" again in 2004.

Looking back, Virostko, 40, has much to be proud of.

"I made it doing something I loved," he said. "My life was all about surfing and doing crazy stuff, getting crazy waves. To win Mav's once was like a dream come true, let alone three times."

During the inaugural 1999 Quiksilver Men Who Ride Mountains surf contest at Maverick's, the 5-foot, 9-inch, 150-pound surfer sported a leopard-pelt hairdo -- a tribute to a friend who had cancer.

In 2000, he beat current 11-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater in all three heats of the Quiksilver Men Who Ride Mountains event at Maverick's, including the final.

"There's no one in the surfing world that has done what he's done," said friend and fellow big wave surfer Peter Mel, a Santa Cruz native. "Three in a row is a feat that will never be matched. It's amazing what he's accomplished."

Because the Maverick's contest was not run between Virostko's 2000 and 2004 victories, he stands as a back to back to back champion.

"[Flea] sets himself apart. In his heyday, he was the man to beat and I think he still would be today if he didn't retire," said Maverick's pioneer Jeff Clark. Clark added that when Virostko started surfing Maverick's, "He learned early on to surf Maverick's well, and so when the first contest came around, he was ready."

Besides dominating at Maverick's, Virostko was a four-time competitor and 12-time invitee to the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.

Virostko's epic wipeout at the 2004 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational was featured on the cover of Surfing magazine in March 2005. The death-defying tumble from the 50-foot close-out earned Virostko Surfer magazine's "Wipeout of the Decade" award.

Virostko was nominated for the Billabong XXL award for biggest wave of 2006.

"There's an inner being with Flea, and sometimes it just clicks at the most extreme places," said fellow big wave surfer Shawn "Barney" Barron, also of Santa Cruz. "It's kind of scary because you could play it safe and be on the shoulder, but Flea's kind of the opposite. He's always loved the thrill of getting a large wave."

Life at the top was about as precarious as one of Virostko's wild rides at Maverick's. Eventually, the wave he was riding would give him the pounding of his life.

Takeoff

Virostko was born Dec. 25, 1971. He survived a troubled childhood by channelling his aggression into surfing on Santa Cruz's Westside.

The breaks along the Westside were a dangerous territory ruled by Vince Collier, a "Godfather"-like figure who enforced the heavy localism that kept the choice Santa Cruz breaks free of "valleys," "trannies" and other unwanted interlopers.

Virostko earned his nickname, "Flea," when Collier spotted the teenage surfer charging down the face of a Middle Peak set wave at Steamer Lane. Collier thought Virostko -- who was barely above four feet tall at the time -- looked like a flea clinging to the back of a big dog.

"Steamer Lane is kind of a big wave in its own right," said Mel, who credits the wave with honing Virostko's early big wave skills. "Santa Cruz is such a unique place. The level of the surfers and of our mentors, Richard Schmidt and Vince Collier, we each took a little piece of what they did. Having mentors that were as good as those guys were on a global level, and also the crew we grew up with, gave us an advantage."

Virostko graduated from Santa Cruz High in 1991, already having graduated from Middle Peak bombs to Maverick's more dangerous waters the previous winter. The experienced lit a fire that would take 20 years to burn itself out.

"I loved big waves," said Virostko. "Every time Mav's broke, I wanted to be up there. We would paddle out and it was really uncrowded, there were no jet skis. It's pretty crazy looking back now. We weren't totally aware of how dangerous it was."

A friendly rivalry between Mel and Virostko drove the two surfers to push the boundaries, always seeking a bigger wave, a more critical ride, a more perfect day.

"As kids, we would surf up the coast," Barron remembered. "Peter Mel was a couple of years older and already this established big wave surfer, and Flea was just always battling him, trying to get a gnarlier wave."

The surf careers of Virostko and his friends, including Barron, Jason "Ratboy" Collins, Ken "Skindog" Collins and Mel, were created by a perfect storm in the surf world. Sponsorship money was pouring into action sports and big wave surfing was in the spotlight.

During the peak of his career, Virostko was earning $12,000 a month from sponsorships. Heaped on top of that were contest earnings, including $45,000 he collected from the first two years of the Maverick's event.

It was enough for a down payment on a Westside home just blocks from the waves he grew up surfing.

At Maverick's, Virostko was king. His reputation for kamikaze surfing in the heaviest waves earned him the respect of big wave surfers around the world.

"When I surf big waves like Maverick's, I can't hold back," Virostko admitted. "My whole mindset is that I have to sit on the bowl. Sometimes I'm getting pitched and I just think, What am I doing?'"

Wipeout

In 2005, methamphetamine accounted for half of all drug-related arrests made by the sheriff's office in Santa Cruz County. It was a growing problem in California, where counties reported a 100 percent increase in methamphetamine-related arrests. In Santa Cruz, the drug was an underwater time bomb, detonating among the surf scene and clearing out the waters.

After suffering a knee injury at the 2004 Eddie Aikau, Virostko said his substance abuse began to escalate. He was out of the water for two months and was drydocked during the Maverick's surf contest that winter. Instead of defending his title, he watched as fellow Westsider Anthony Tashnick took the win.

By 2006, the party lifestyle was taking its toll. Virostko began to fade from the Santa Cruz surf scene, appearing occasionally for standout sessions at Maverick's.

"It got crazy," said Virostko. "I wish I would have put a filter on it and thought about my longevity, but you can't change the past."

By 2007, Virostko was a casualty -- addicted to the high of meth, which lasts up to 12 hours and creates intense feelings of euphoria, increased endurance and a sense of invincibility. The high wasn't so different from the dopamine-saturated rush that comes from riding a huge wave at Maverick's -- but he didn't have to wait for the buoys to light up and surf conditions to be perfect to score it.

"I thought I would never get addicted to meth, but I needed it every day by 2007," Virostko said, adding that he was also drinking a half gallon of vodka each day. "I wasn't thinking about my truck payment or my house payment. It turns you into something that you're not. I was lying to my sponsors and telling them, I got this, I'm surfing every day!' I was living a lie."

His surf career was on the rocks. When his contracts came up at the beginning of the year, he lost most of his major financial sponsors.

After a lackluster performance at the 2007 Maverick's event, it was clear that Virostko was in the grip of monster.

Virostko's family and friends held an intervention at Santa Cruz High later that year. His childhood mentors, Schmidt and Joey Thomas, his family and girlfriend all gathered together to confront his substance abuse.

Driven by the knowledge that those who mattered most wanted him to get clean, Virostko fueled his body one last time with vodka and meth and drove himself to Beacon House, a rehab facility in Monterey. When he checked in, his BAC level was .28, just .02 below what doctors say can be deadly.

"I'm a pretty strong-willed person," Virostko said of the decision to get sober. "If I want to do something, I'll do it."

One month later, Virostko checked out with a new outlook on life. And, he couldn't wait to go surfing.

Surfacing

Virostko today is a changed man. The fire has consumed itself, leaving him with a passion for advancing the sport of big wave surfing and a desire to help others conquer their addictions. The wave has been ridden, the wipeout survived, and Darryl Virostko is surfacing again.

"I'm going in a different direction," Virostko said of his decision to retire. "I had that thirst for Maverick's for 20 years and it's just not there anymore. I don't want to go out there and do something crazy. I want to see my baby grow up, I want to give other people a chance, especially younger guys that haven't had that opportunity in life."

The decision to retire took root during the opening ceremony of the 2009-10 Eddie Aikau surf contest. Virostko had traveled to Hawaii for the prestigious event and felt pressured to compete.

Virostko went on to compete in the event, but Aikau's words resonated with him.

This year, Virostko will take a different place in the lineup at the Maverick's contest. He will still be in the water, but this time he'll be offering an expert's take on the contest for the event's webcast.

After successfully completing rehab, Virostko founded Fleahab, a program for recovering addicts that incorporates surfing, skateboarding and outdoor activities. With the help of his family and the board of directors, the program continues to grow.

The Fleahab First Annual Golf Tournament, a recent benefit for the program, featured a who's-who lineup of professional big wave surfers and their friends and family.

"Flea basically has the biggest heart of any of my friends," said Mel. "He's always had it, although I don't think he was in touch with it. When his sobriety came around, it allowed him to take that shield down and be who he truly is, which is a really giving, big-hearted friend."

Today, Virostko spends his time building the Fleahab rehab program and working construction to support his family, which includes 4-month-old daughter Lily Joan. At a recent session out at Mitchell's Cove, he was spotted flying high above the lip on an electric green board.

"I love the sport of big wave surfing," said Virostko. "You have to be in peak physical shape, surfing every day, training. But I don't get paid to surf anymore, so I can't surf every day, all day."

Virostko is squaring up with his past and giving reality the same steely-eyed, unflinching stare he used when facing down big waves.

Surfing big waves may never be something Virostko quits entirely, but he's no longer chasing the biggest, deepest or gnarliest ride. He's leaving the extremes behind and focusing on what matters today.

"I'm on three and a half years," Virostko said, proudly, referencing his sobriety. "I have a beautiful baby and a girlfriend."